Seven Lakes names Lydell Wilson as its football coach

Lydell Wilson, who led Lamar Consolidated to the 2007 4A Division I championship, is the new head football coach and campus athletic coordinator at Seven Lakes after being approved by the school board Tuesday.

“It’s in a spot where I think it’s ready to make a move,” Wilson said, citing the school and program’s growth.

He comes to the Spartans after spending the past two seasons at C.E. King. Wilson posted consecutive 4-6 seasons with the Panthers. Looking beyond the wins and losses, Wilson and his staff helped the football program grow from 46 players to around 130.

“It was a tough decision,” Wilson said. “We put in some good work there.”

At Lamar Consolidated, Wilson spent eight seasons with his alma mater and rebuilt a program that had just three wins in the two years before his arrival. The Mustangs posted their first 10-0 regular season in Wilson’s fourth year and won it all in 2007, beating Copperas Cove and Robert Griffin III (this year’s Heisman Trophy winner).

Seven Lakes went 6-4 last season and finished fifth in District 19-5A under former head coach Kevin O’Keefe, who led the program through its first six years and stepped down after the season. The Spartans went 4-6 in 2010 and posted their only playoff appearance the year before.

“Seven Lakes is one of those jobs that you just can’t pass up,” Wilson said.